Monday, 28 February 2011

Torchwood: Week Seven Production

A shorter week for the Torchwood production, with Presidents Day being a public holiday in the States on Monday.

Cast name-checked during the week included John Barrowman, Eve Myles, and Mekhi Phifer, though of course many others were involved during filming! Also, Christopher Thomas Howell (The Outsiders, Criminal Minds, Southland, The Amazing Spider Man) mentioned in an interview with SouthLAndTVFans that he would shortly be joining the production.

The weekend before saw the GallifreyOne convention take place in Los Angeles, during which there was a panel involving writers Jane Espenson and Doris Egan who discussed their involvement with the new series; this included dealing with the nuances between UK/Welsh and US modes of speech and the cultural differences in the meaning of words like 'vest', a discussion on the differences that seems to exist between the US and UK approach to scripting a series - especially in terms of the freedom that UK writers have (though with more re-writes), and how the enthusiasm of Russell T Davies 'infects' their own approach to writing! Episodes-wise, it was clarified that the last three episodes are still being prepared, with episode eight in third draft, nine nearly finished, and ten about to be written by Russell. The two writers also admitted that they'd already bandied about ideas for future stories, though no futher series of Torchwood have been commissioned (yet!)

Tuesday

Back to Warner Bros for another long day's shoot. Filming continued on episode three, with John Barrowman, Eve Myles and Mekhi Phifer shooting scenes.

Writer Jane Espsensonreported that there would be a production meeting for episode four that lunch time; she also clarified that the final three episodes were still in the process of being tweaked.

Meanwhile, Shawna Trpcic also explained that no date had been set as yet for the release of the publicity photos.

Jane also provided the first "TW-Spy!" photo of the week, giving us a glimpse of how studio backdrop looks on-set!

Twitter gossip for the day included:

07:34 MC 6am call. Sick as a dog. God I want to sleep for 12 hours straight.
07:52 MP Just got on set of Torchwood.. Cold LA morning and I am going shirtless!!
Not complaining though, just need some ideas on how to stay warm??
09:06 JE Just got good morning hugs from John and Eve on set. Love this cast!
09:08 ST Hello faux Monday. Had an amazing fitting with eve at 630 am and
she was still amazing :-)
09:51 KO Back to LA tomorrow for a few days filming. |
12:47 JE Tour group of UK tourists just spotted John Barrowman on lot.
Apparently there was much excitement! |
14:48 MP having a great time working on Torchwood...
great cast and great people to work with. lots of action/intensity

Wednesday

Today's "TW-Spy!" is from Alana Stone, who teased us with this shot of a set interior. This evoked a number of ideas, including: "ooohhh...is this at the new Hub?", "Now I really want to know what's behind the door.", "could the 'June 45' be significant?".

The day also saw Kai Owen setting out to return to Los Angeles for some more filming; his time at Heathrow awaiting the flight turned out to be quite a 'happy hour'! (UK time)

14:10 Having a very large vodka tonic at Heathrow,
Los Angeles beware!!
a drunk Welshman will be arriving shortly.
14:54 @JaneEspenson I just hope they let me on the plane!!
theses 'Large' vodkas are getting Larger by
the minute!!! Cant wait to see you x
14:56 Thats's it I'm starting to do typos!1
i'm drumk and have too bored this plain!!
see you on the other side peeple xx
05:48 Hello Los Angeles!!!!!

Other Twitter chat included:

10:51 JE In scene that shot yesterday. Gwen: "I got you this."
10:51 AS In awe! That's all.
12:03 AF They are filming at WB, but I'm not there today.
Maybe tomorrow! It is very day-to-day for me. ^_^ |
15:02 AF Torchwood tomorrow! It is confirmed. ^_^ |
15:10 MP on set on the Warner bros lot in between shots watching short films on
thirdREEL.com. Definitely a cure for boredom!! Check it out!

The Doctor Who News report on Torchwood last week also seemed to generate a bit of interest!

Thursday

Torchwood takes to the roads today! However, in reality this was to actually remain on-set at Warner Bros rather than out and about on the streets of Los Angeles! Whether there would be some "low-loader" shots later in filming is unclear, though scenes were filmed this way back in the UK along the M4.

This was to be a late-nighter for filming in the (cold) studio, eventually wrapping around 3:00am.

Meanwhile production meetings continued, with Jane Espenson heard to say: "Where does the reality end?", whilst the production office reported that prepping for episodes five and six were about to start as filming for episodes three and four continued.

13:21 MC Back at work FYI I did sleep for almost 20 hours straight. Feel better.
15:18 MC Complicated multiple-department car gag happening right now
15:28 MC Light car gag http://twitpic.com/43dnu7
16:20 AF Driving shots. To simulate motion, rotate fake streetlights on
a contraption resembling a ceiling fan. :-)
15:42 JE Just uttered at Torchwood production meeting: "Where does the reality end?"
Work stops as we ponder.
16:32 ST @JaneEspenson Should b a tshirt
21:05 AF Torchwood night shoot later tonight. Freezing outside.
Did not bring furry boots. My toes will be sad indeed. T_T
23:11 BBC Getting wild tonight with the #Torchwood nocturnal crew! Stay warm everyone.
Also, @KaiKaiOwen we're not going to let you leave...
23:13 BBC Tomorrow, prepping for EP 5&6 while shooting EP3&4.
Perhaps a second coffee maker is in order. Go team go!!
00:52 AF Non-stop for 2 days: commercial -> DJ gig ->
chilly #Torchwood night shoot ->
no sleep and on to an 8AM calltime at The Bachelor. Oy. T_T
01:31 AF I was just fantasizing about the bananas foster-flavored coffee
I'm going to make when we're wrapped at #Torchwood. :-)
03:03 MC Just past 3 am and finally Martini is called.

Friday

Back out on location for today, with scenes for episode four involving Kai Owen taking place in a hospital - this may have been a return to the Linda Vista Hospital where they filmed previously (a well-used film location), but wasn't confirmed. Another location mentioned by Michael Colbert was described being the "Lethal Weapon House"! The day was interrupted by rain (though fortunately not the snow that beset Los Angeles at the weekend!).

Meanwhile, amidst concerns on Twitter about possible alterations to Jack's character, Jane Espensonreassured: "Not all 'straightening' Jack! Jack is very much still Jack! Fans will be pleased."

04:06 KO Damn! I'm wide awake, wide awake!! It's 4am here. I'm on set all day.
Espresso's all day I reckon! Have a good Friday everyone. X
06:45 KO I'm shooting at a hospital today. Scenes from Ep 4.
08:05 ST Early call on first unit late call on second unit
we are taking over LA units everywhere :-)
16:57 MC Ugly rainy night with super cold (for southern Cal) temps.
All outside and goin till probably 5 in the morning.
This is what we do for you.
17:00 KO There's no official wrap time here, so it could be anything really,
you finish when you finish. Longest for me so far 15 hours.
17:05 MC Sitting in the lethal weapon house.
Can smell still smell Joe Pechi even with the rain.
17:30 KO It raining in LA!!
18:50 AS I'm such a geek. Hehe
20:58 AF Looks like it'll be several days before I'm back working on #Torchwood.
On the flip side, I'm working on #Glee on Monday!
21:09 KO Back at the bar!! Great crew on #Torchwood. It's gonna be one helm of a show.
Back to blighty tomorrow.
21:18 KO One HELL of a show, not one Helm of a show!!
21:21 AF My job on TW isn't quite as exciting as you think tho!
I'm just standing in for now; hopefully more jobs with lines to come.
21:37 MC Were WAY past suck tonight already and still have hours to go.
07:34 BBC We're not going to let a torrential downpour stop us from
shooting all night. Bring it.
Also, @KaiKaiOwen safe travels back see you soon!
00:50 ST @KaiKaiOwen gave Kai a welcome kiss so glad to have him here feels right
05:54 MC Finally going home 16 hours later

As usual no filming took place at the weekend, though this doesn't apply to writers, as Jane Espenson observed on Sunday:

14:12 Working hard today on #Torchwood episode 8. How much can I get done before #Oscars?
14:27 Russell is incredibly positive! I've been lucky to work with a number of
visionaries and he's up with best of 'em!

Kai Owen is due back to L.A. for three months of filming from the 12th March, and tweets intimated that he'll be joined by Tom Price too!

23 14:53(UK) Im back on Sunday, Then on the 12th March we all head out for three months!!
26 14:41(LA) Tom, Where are you? I'm sitting in the lounge at LAX,
don't let me come here alone again.

Week Eight sees the production back into the heart of Los Angeles, with filming scheduled on Tuesday at the US Tower Building (also known as the Library Building) - a tall skyscraper at 633 West 5th Street - between 7:00am and 10:00pm; another unit is also active on the same day in a parking garage at 524 South Flower Street, between 6:00am and 2:00pm.